NFL Player News

With Miami on a five-game losing streak and at risking of missing the playoffs, McDaniel’s job has come under question. While it’s hard to see McDaniel’s getting fired, it wouldn’t be surprising to see GM Chris Grier or DC Josh Boyer scapegoated for Miami’s late season collapse. The Dolphins have been the center of controversy this season between their handling of QB Tua Tagovailoa’s injuries and a still pending lawsuit from ex-coach Brian Flores. Winning in Week 18 and sneaking into the playoffs would ensure McDaniel is back in 2023. We highly doubt McDaniel is actually on the hot seat, but owner Stephen Ross is one of the league’s worst.

Waddle did not play at all in the second half of Miami’s loss to Houston in Week 15, but was on the sideline with his helmet in his hands. We’d want to see some practice reports before declaring this a non-issue, but this is as comforting a coach quote as you could hope for after Waddle waddled (sorry) off the field in the second quarter.

NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reports, “This is not an extension of the suspension for Johnson,” while adding that the Ravens and Johnson are “working through their options right now.” Johnson was suspended by the team in Week 15 after refusing to enter the game in Week 13’s loss to the Eagles, and was expected to be back with the team on Monday. Now, it sounds as if the two sides could be headed for a split before season’s end. Things have gone poorly for Johnson since he arrived to Baltimore at the NFL’s trade deadline. He has just one catch for six yards since joining the team.

Does it matter? Tim Boyle came on in relief of Tommy DeVito in Sunday’s loss to the Ravens, throwing for 123 yards, one touchdown, and one interception in relief of DeVito, with Daboll praising him for being “decisive with the football” in his first outing of the season with Big Blue. Boyle starting bears more weight on the Giants offensive playmakers than anything else, as he could severely limit the upside of Malik Nabers, who has struggled to find good quarterback play all season.

He hurt his knee catching a touchdown from Joe Burrow, a fitting way for a Bengals defender to end the season after all the harm they’ve done to Burrow this year. Hubbard is entering the final year of a four-year, $40 million extension with the Bengals in 2025. He’s no lock to remain on the roster after a two-sack, 25-solo tackle season.

Jones also said he didn’t think training camp would be a consideration for Diggs, who will undergo season-ending knee surgery in the coming days. According to Jones, Diggs’ injury is related to fluid and cartilage issues in his knee, but it is a new injury unrelated to the torn ACL he suffered last season. It’s too early to say for certain, but Diggs could be a prime candidate to open next season on the PUP list based on the loose timeline Jones is providing us. We’ll have a better sense of things as we draw closer to camp, but it would not be a surprise if Diggs missed games early into next season.

Legette has not cracked 60 yards or caught a touchdown since the start of November, and this injury will probably wrap a bow on his mostly-rough rookie season. We wouldn’t be surprised if he was sent to injured reserve, though the Panthers will probably try to get him more experience and aren’t in a roster crunch situation where they have to do it. Legette is droppable in deeper redraft leagues.

Mayo managed to step in some hot water with the press by seeming to throw Alex Van Pelt under the bus on a goal-line play call this week — saying “you said it, I didn’t” about sneaking with Drake Maye — before referring to it as “a defensive response.” Mayo told WEEI that “Just like I tell the players, I’m still learning how those things work.” Never a bad time to learn, coach. The state of the Patriots roster is such that it’s hard to really hold Mayo’s feet to the fire for a terrible opening season, but he sure hasn’t gotten much from the roster and the defense has collapsed without Bill Belichick. It wouldn’t be unprecedented to fire a first-year head coach who struggled like this, but Kraft has had Mayo as the coach-in-waiting long enough that it would certainly be surprising.

Mixon left Week 15’s game briefly after a hip-drop tackle, but returned without missing more than a few snaps. He didn’t have his normal burst, but finished out the game. Volume alone will put Mixon near the RB1 line in a Week 16 start against the Chiefs — the Texans suddenly find themselves as slight favorites with Patrick Mahomes’ status in jeopardy.

Tillman has missed three games in concussion protocol, but finally made it back to the practice field towards the end of last week. If Tillman does play he’ll cut into Jerry Jeudy’s target share. It is possible that if the Browns bench Jameis Winston, no Cleveland receiver beyond Jerry Jeudy is actually worth starting. If healthy, Tillman would be a tough start if Dorian Thompson-Robinson gets the call.